Iron



Patented May 31, 1938 UNITED STATES any PAT

2 Claims.

The invention relates to irons and has for its object the provision, ofa utensil of this character wherein the area of the ironing surface orsole is increased without greatly increasing the weight of the ironthereby speeding up pressing or ironing, increasing the ease with whichthe iron is operated, and preventing the distortion and wrinkling of thearticles being pressed or ironed.

With the above and other objects in View, as will be apparent, thisinvention consists in the construction, combination and arrangements ofparts, all as hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustratedin the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an iron constructed in accordance with thepresent invention; and

Fig, 2 is a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. l and may besaid to be substantially a top plan view of the iron constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Heretofore, in the construction of irons generally and of electric ironsparticularly, the shoe or sole of the iron has been substantiallycoextensive with the shell thereof and with the heating elementcontained within said shell. Therefore, the effective surface of theiron in pressing or ironing is the equivalent of and coextensive withthe sole of the shell. The present invention contemplates increasing theefiective area of the shoe or sole of the iron without increasing thesize of the shell and without very materially increasing the weight ofthe iron as an entirety, so that there will be a greater area or surfaceironed or pressed upon each reciprocation or operation of the utensil.

Reference being had more particularly to the drawing, l designates thestandard shell of an electric iron having a handle I l and theelectrical connections l2 at the heel thereof. The shoe or sole l3 ofthe iron is provided with a central shoulder I4 which creates anelevation for reception within the body of the shell.

Upon each side of the shell I 0 the shoe or sole I3 is provided with anextension or flange I5, the contour of the edge of which corresponds andgenerally follows that of the side of the shell I0. These flanges l5gradually reduce in thickness from the walls of the shell toward theedges thereof and are wider adjacent the heel of the shell l0 than theyare at or adjoining the toe. In other words, the edges of the flangesconverge from the heel of the iron toward its toe. By having the flangesdecrease in thickness from the walls of the shell I0 toward the edges ofthe flanges, it has been found that the heat originating in the heatingunit within the shell readily and quickly travels toward the edges ofthe flanges l5 thereby producing an even distribution of the heatthroughout the sole or shoe l3 and .5

its extensions I5.

It is necessary in an iron constructed in accordance with the presentinvention to increase the capacity of the heating unit within the shellit but in view of the increased work accomplished by the iron with thesame amount of effort, the increased consumption of current due to theincrease in capacity of the heating unit is off-set.

It has been found that by making the shoe or sole l3 of a metal alloycontaining at least 50% copper, the heat from the unit within the shellIll will travel more rapidly to the edges of the extensions l5 and thatthe shoe or sole it will retain the heat longer. Furthermore, it hasbeen found that as the percentage of copper in the shoe or sole i3 isincreased the more rapidly the heat will be transferred to the edges ofthe extensions 15.

From the foregoing, it is manifest that the present inventionaccomplishes the pressing or ironing of a given surface with lessoperating reciprocation or with the same number of operatingreciprocations will increase the area of the surface ironed or pressed.Furthermore, it is to be observed that the weight of the iron or utensilis not materially increased and that the shoe or sole of the iron isheated uniformly throughout.

What is claimed is:-

1. In an iron, the combination with a shell, having a pointed toe and awide heel, the sides of said shell converging from the heel toward saidtoe, of a sole member affixed to said shell, and flanges on said solemember projecting outwardly from said member beyond the sides of theshell, said flanges having their greatest width adjoining the heel ofthe shell and gradually diminishing in width from the heel of the shelltoward the toe thereof.

2. In an iron, the combination with a shell, having a pointed toe and awide heel, the sides of the shell converging from the heel toward thetoe, of a sole member affixed to said shell and relatively thin flangesprojecting beyond the shell coplanar with the sole, to increase theefiective surface of the latter, those flanges coacting with theconvergent sides of the shell being relatively wide adjoining the heelof the shell and gradually reducing in width toward the toe of theshell, the edge portions of said flanges converging and meeting beyondsaid toe.

ROBERT B. PAYSEE.

